Creativity Benefits and Art as Therapy

Most people don’t know this about me, but creativity benefits my sense of well-being. It is something that I must do to remain sane. I have a very hectic, almost crazy life (which I love) but sometimes, it’s easy for me to get swallowed up by depression or feel like a failure. For the last 18 years, I’ve been parenting a daughter with autism. She’s added a quality to my life that nothing else could, yet, there are times I really find myself feeling like I’m doing most everything wrong. When I pick up a pen, draw something, or try to brush letter, I feel that stuff melt away. It’s very healing for me to create.

Creativity Benefits As a Support System

This week I was dealing with a lot of social workers, the school system, and other county places. I homeschool my kids which most people either love or hate. It does seem like everyone has a say about how I parent my children, especially my daughter with autism, because going the homeschool route is often seen as neglect for some reason. But in my case, it was the school system that failed us, so homeschool has been a lifeline for us and a place where I can give individual attention to her needs and set up private services to meet our goals.

Society and people I run into often aren’t very supportive. I often feel like I’m doing everything wrong. When I create something, no one is telling me I suck. No one is belittling my efforts. Even if I really do suck, there is encouragement in the art community that I don’t find as a mom of special needs daughter. It’s the one place I feel like I’m normal. It’s the one place where I can breath the same air as everyone else.

When you create something and it makes others happy, or it makes yourself happy, that is never wrong. Creating is often something that others support willingly. There are many communities and meet up groups and classes dedicated to those who want to create. It’s as if the community as a whole welcomes those of us who aren’t perfect. That is something I truly appreciate about creatives.

Creating is Therapeutic

When I created this blog, I never wanted to get personal about my life. I didn’t want to share my struggles or lay my life out for others to see and judge. But I felt compelled to write this because I wonder how many other people have turned to creativity to help them. I wonder how many others have found their callings and been thrusted into their own sense of greatness even when everything else felt wrong. That is what creativity is to me. It’s why I keep moving forward, even if I am a newb at some things or I don’t ooze “brilliant artist” like everyone else I know. Interestingly enough, I’ve found support from almost everyone I’ve encountered in the art community. They really encourage “no competition” and I love that. I wish it was evident in other areas of my life.

Find Your Creative Niche

I encourage you, no matter what your life looks like or how stressful it is, to find something you enjoy creating. Creativity has tremendous benefits for your mood, stress levels, and sense of self-worth. You don’t have to be graphic designer, illustrator, or be into brush lettering. You could enjoy poetry or writing, home DIY projects, or landscaping. We all have the ability to create inside of us and when we find what it is that makes us alive, we do our soul a lot of good.

In an upcoming post, I want to share a little more about the creative process and how you can develop more of a creative habit. Take note of your urgency to create and notice how it benefits your life when you are doing it.

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that
without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

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Comments

I enjoy running and sometimes like to think of the quote, “Running is an art, the runner is the artist.” Not every run is pretty, though. But when it all flows, it can feel beautiful! I sew, too. My daughter has sensitivity issues with her clothes, so I started letting her pick the fabric and I found the perfect pattern for her. I enjoy sewing so much for the same reasons. I feel stress melt away and I feel good creating things. I even started sewing a lot of my own clothes, too. Wow, you home schooled, too? That is great. I am terrified of sending my youngest into the school system. My neighbors down the street home school their kids. And you’re right – a lot of people are unsupportive. I feel like it is that whole “different is bad” thing. She told me about it, the progam and the activities the kids do -seems like a really great option! Good to know there is another option, too!

I think a lot of things can be considered art. My husband enjoys redoing the floors and I sometimes like to repaint things in our home. It’s not “art” in the traditional sense, but it’s still creating. I like that quote!

I only saw part of your comment so I only replied to part of it sorry!! I wish I had more time to sew. I love the option of homeschooling but I also feel in over my head sometimes. My daughter never qualified for county services so we did what we could with our finances and therapies, but I feel like she may have gotten more help from the school had she been there. We did do some school services but it only helped a little. And the anxiety of sending her there was too much so we opted to keep her home and we did classes instead of therapies as she got older. I hope you can find a support system near you. I never felt like I fit in even with other moms who had kids on the spectrum. It was hard for me to find moms with autistic girls so it looked very different in our home than it did with moms of boys. It’s been good but also sometimes I feel like I should’ve done more. Maybe we all feel like that.

I have anxiety as well – Right now he has a ton of county services in a Special Ed preschool. And he is doing great! So I am nervous they will say he doesn’t need anything when he transitions into elementary school. Which will be so scary to me, and when I would consider keeping him home. But I guess, I can only wait and see. I could never say this on my own blog, but we don’t recieve any support from family either. The best support I have ever got has been from the teachers and a few of the therapists that have worked with Declan. I learned recently how autism looks different in girls than in boys when my daughter was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism. That was so helpful to learn! Sometimes I wonder if I should be doing more, too. But when things are flowing well, I don’t rock the boat. Sounds like you are on top of things and doing a great job! Air high 5!

You too lady! I’m glad you found support. That’s awesome. I think I’m a weird introvert and it’s hard for me most of the time to fit in and feel supported so it’s even harder to fight for services and push my daughter into new things. I don’t like being pushed into things. I actually wondered sometimes if I am autistic because the social stuff is really hard for me too but I’m a really good faker and I am able to do it and advocate for myself where my daughter really can’t. Anyway it’s forced me to be more extroverted trying to help her but at times it’s been really hard too. Family can be amazing but unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of family. I’m glad I found your blog so we can support each other!!

Me too! We sound like the same person – I even wrote a piece “Introversion vs Autism” because I am so introverted. The more I read about what Asperger’s can look like in females, I wonder the same thing. Yet, I found my big girl pants to speak out for Declan (so far). So happy to connect with you!

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My name is Elle and I own Everyday Elle. I create digital printables and resources for everyday use. I offer design and Wordpress tutorials and give away free stuff to my subscribers. I'm passionate about helping you with your creative projects.